Title
Olympia Metropolitan Park District (OMPD) Interlocal Agreement Discussion
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Briefing only.
Report
Issue:
Discussion on the Olympia Metropolitan Park District (OMPD) Interlocal Agreement
Staff Contact:
Paul Simmons, Parks, Arts and Recreation Director, 360.753.8462
Presenter(s):
Paul Simmons, Parks, Arts and Recreation Director
Background and Analysis:
Following the passage of successful ballot measure to create the Olympia Metropolitan Parks District, the City of Olympia and the Olympia Metropolitan Park District entered into an Interlocal agreement. The terms of the interlocal agreement were modeled after other cities that took similar actions. The agreement was also thoroughly reviewed and negotiated by the City of Olympia City Council Finance Committee working in coordination with the Coalition of Park Advocates (now known as the YES Olympia Parks Coalition). The final agreement was approved in 2016 by both the City of Olympia and the Olympia Metropolitan Park District Board and has been in place ever since.
The interlocal agreement was created to provide transparency and strengthen trust in the community, by outlining how the City and the Park District funding resources work together. The Interlocal agreement includes several specific commitments by the City regarding funding for park operations, acquisition, development, and maintenance. It also outlines the formation and role of a citizen advisory committee for oversight, which has been operating since 2016 under the name OMPD Advisory Committee.
The funding agreement has been in place for 9 years and provides predictable funding for the Parks, Arts, and Recreation Department. These funding sources have been leveraged to receive nearly $12 million in additional state and federal grants. The funding agreement also provided the foundation for the Capital Investment Strategies outlined in the 2016 and 2022 Parks, Arts and Recreation Plan. These inv...
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